Virginia Institute of Marine Science - Davis Hall
Gloucester Point, Va.
Award of Merit

Owner: College of William & Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Lead Design Firm: Moseley Architects
Construction Manager: Barton Malow Co.
Civil Engineer: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.
Structural Engineer: Moseley Architects
MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc.
Mechanical & Plumbing: Warwick Mechanical Group
Subcontractors: Weldon Steel Corp. (Structural Steel); Hudgins Contracting Corp. (Sitework); GHD (Fire Protection Engineer); HG Design Studio (Landscape Design); Heard Concrete

The two-story building targeting LEED Gold certification serves as a consolidated scientific research facility at one of the largest marine research centers in the country, according to the project team.

Before the $11-million project was completed, researchers had been scattered across the campus working in dilapidated, energy-inefficient buildings.  

The facility, located on the banks of the York River, includes offices, conference rooms, a seminar room, two small field research laboratories, graphics and media studios and a computer data center that serves the entire campus.

Because the project site is located in an area that was the site of fortifications during the Revolutionary and Civil wars, construction manager Barton Malow worked with the owner and archaeologists to prepare for delays from prolonged digs by cooperatively using site excavation equipment to speed up the archaeology clearing process that is mostly done with hand tools. More than 600 artifacts were unearthed, including personal items belonging to  a British Revolutionary War soldier and potentially live cannonball artillery.

The team rerouted two important seawater lines that ran through the building footprint to an adjacent lab. Before foundation work could begin, the new lines needed to be tied in and the existing lines removed. Overcoming logistics challenges, the team bypassed the old lines one at a time while making new connections.

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